Boards that "die"

[Hatchnam]

The board itself is OK. but nothing that special in my opinion. Not from what I've experienced, and certainly not from what I see from it time and time over from the all and sundry. The hype over HKs is disproportionate.

Craig Anderson's ripping on them doesn't count for much in relation to how that applies to the masses. All it does is showcase him as the great surfer he is. Not how the board is gonna solve or serve for the overwhelming majority who buy them.

I mostly blame the lame surfing on them, more on the fact that people are going too short with them. Just like they're going too short with many other boards. And suffering and struggling because of that.

While blasting out a gazillion turns over and over in small pockety waves might be great, any board that short will be at detriment when sheer surface area and length of rail is called for. Maths.


U may have missed it, but a while ago I made particular mention of one guy I see that surfs really well on his. I'm sure braithy rips on his too.

Also, if the signature gets up ur nose that much I will remove it for u. Happy ?

[steve shearer]

have to say HK's might work OK but after seeing a million punters riding them over a week plus of OH to DOH point surf they're a fcuking kook magnet.

no qualms with the concept.

[el rancho]

price is probably the main factor.

thirteen year old grom can get a new custom pu/pe for five hundred off an experienced local shaper....or pay close to a grand for a new tech.

not a hard equation to solve.

that's a really good point.

but its still doesn't add up.....u can get a custom for say a grand that last maybe , 6 years or a poly that's worthless in six months ( or 3 if your a kook, hi braithy )

and I still think your surfing improves the longer you surf a board....I just tend figure them out over time and they just go better and better

thus my love of my 20 yr dahlberg
so
one thing I think is important .....critical actually there is no point having a board that lasts for eva if it goes like a dog
so the effort in construction still comes back too the quality and suitability of the shape too the surfer


its such a amazing art.....making bloody surfboards

stop talking sense fong

[Indo dreaming]

Havent tried a HK and actually don't really see many at all around here (as no local shop sells them), only one's i remember seeing were actually older guys that were surprisingly surfing pretty good.

To be honest i wouldn't mind giving one a go, but ive had a board in future flex tech, felt good, but not much durable than poly so its not something id buy new.

Had similar shapes and they definitely have there place especially if ridden towards the top of your volume range, heaps of foam under chest and wide point forward, low rocker= easy to paddle and great in below average waves, flys over fat sections, but surprisingly some of these kind of boards also seem to go great even in barrels.

Personally i don't write any board design off to me there just like flavours or colours there just different there is no right or wrong, just different rides different experiences, sometimes its good to mix it up.

[Hatchnam]

have to say HK's might work OK but after seeing a million punters riding them over a week plus of OH to DOH point surf they're a fcuking kook magnet.

no qualms with the concept.

Hallelujah !!!!!!!!

[steve shearer]

the price argument for me: my polys last three to four years, go great and are easy to repair and cost me about half to two thirds of a tech board. The upfront cost of a tech board is prohibitive for me and lot of people I know.
OTR polys are disposable fashion items. Custom boards can be made to last without too much of a weight handicap. My polys actually feel lighter than a lot of FW's.

I've had epoxy/eps boards that seemed basically of about equal durability, were harder to fix and yellowed noticeably over time.
I found the ride noticeably less predictable and smooth....there is something about the dampening effect of poly that just seems to give a more predictable response pattern in varying conditions. I ride a lot of bumpy surf because that is far less crowded and eps/epoxy just feels too stiff and sensitive in those conditions. I like smooth handling boards at speed/ I want the rail to carve, not skip out or go weird and twitchy on me.

The workmanship, shape and quality looks exceptional on the JD boards I've felt up in carparks. However the difference between scratching up five/six hundred and eight hundred/a grand is a significant price barrier.
I'd try a second hand one for sure if the right one came onto the radar.

[Hatchnam]

only one's i remember seeing were actually older guys that were surprisingly surfing pretty good.

Hallelujah again. Older dudes "get" the HK design. Whereas most who ride them don't

[alakaboo]

Fong kids grow quickly.
much as i like tech boards, my kids won't be on them. I've been the same height and roughly the same weight for 20 years.

Steve i reckon it is weight not tech you are noticing, or noticing more.
i had a tech board that i really didn't like, added cork and it went from one i was going to trade back to the shaper to one you'll pry out of my cold dead hands.
to my feet the dampening was negligible as the cork was glued on top rather than integrated.

[crabmeat thompson]

All I know is if fong is advocating something, I will do the complete opposite.

That guy is off his face.

[steve shearer]

the lack of weight or added weight?

I like boards of different weight.

Light boards in clean beachbreak.

My nine foot Brewer Sunset Gun is heavy. And that thing plows through chop and bump on ten foot days.

This epoxy/eps was as light as a feather. great fun in clean surf. Unreliable in bumpier surf.



This poly twinzer is also great in small clean surf. The poly bonzer is heavier. Smoother in point surf with any bump.





Thats a feeling of total confusion as a GT busts me up on the rocks and I'm about to get bowled over by a wave.

[alakaboo]

Exactly, horses for courses.
light for smooth and small, heavier for bumps or bigger.

josh could make you a gun that would blow away when you sneezed, or a summer board that you couldn't hurt with a tyre iron.
it isn't the materials, it's what you do with them.
and I think a lot of people don't really understand how to get the best out of the ingredients.
it takes time and money to play with tech, both from the shaper and the surfer.

[steve shearer]

I bought this sunset gun off a crack addict down on his luck for a hundred fifty bucks in ninety-four. It was probably ten years old when I bought it.
Dragged it around the world with me.



It's still fun as shit on solid days at the Point when a paddler is required.

[Beanpole]

Well I guess that Brewer would definitely age gracefully. How long is it?

Speaking of ridiculously popular surfboards. Given that I'm well aware of just how popular McTavish Longboards are I was still overwhelmed with the number of punters staying in a particular well known beachside caravan park on the mid north coast who had either a well used model under their arm or a brand spanker. It must have been 50 to 60 percent of the mals up there. Ridden by the full range of surfers from complete unco kooks to highly accomplished loggers on retro models and Trackers or Carvers. Now that's brand dominance.

[steve shearer]

never measured it up Beany but I think it's a nine footer.

it lives under the house and gets a run when the conditions dictate.

It's amazing how fashion dictates board volume and weight.

seeing so many crew out Sat on "step-ups" that were six one six three thinking they were going to catch set waves and ending up in this amorphous pack picking up scraps.

[Beanpole]

Couldn't agree more. Got sucked in myself buying a new board to take to Bali last time. I actually had just what I needed. Had bought it kind of thinking about taking it and then I left it at home and bought this board that goes okay as a groveller but has some serious issues in offshore, hollow conditions. In fact some of the floggings I took on it a while ago made me realise how lucky I was to not try any death drops on it when I was over there.

Went for old and reliable boards with the recent run of holiday waves.

[channels]

never measured it up Beany but I think it's a nine footer.

it lives under the house and gets a run when the conditions dictate.

It's amazing how fashion dictates board volume and weight.

seeing so many crew out Sat on "step-ups" that were six one six three thinking they were going to catch set waves and ending up in this amorphous pack picking up scraps.

How big did the Ox get on Saturday? Much of the swell make it up there?

[alakaboo]

Heaps of McTavish's, Sanctums, Firewires and a few HS's in the Bay this week.
Lots of people dragging the nose of their $1200 longboard along the sand. Either no clue or uncaring in a particularly pointed and studied way.

Most of the guys that can surf are on Maddog boards that look about 10 years old with ugly home repair jobs and fins that don't match.

Whilst I like to think I can feel the difference in construction and design, really I am a thoroughly mediocre surfer and always will be. Fins and outline shapes and rocker make far more difference to a surfer of my standard.
Huie and I both know that I'm subsidising his experimentation, I just happen to get to keep the board at the end.

[Natho]

That Brewer looks gold. Im hunting for something similar atm around 8 or 9 feet. It's the only thing missing from my quiver.

re epoxy/ eps v pu/pe I have and like both. About 1/3 of my quiver is epoxy/eps (not pop outs).

Here is my take on epoxy/ eps boards.

- lighter and more float all other things being equal.
- last much longer and stay more lively for longer but will snap. I get about 3 times the life span out of my epoxy/eps
- the extra float allows you to ride a smaller more refined board.
- they can sit too high in the water which can be limited by refining the board esp in the rail. A finer rail will still recover quicker than a PU equivalent.
- They tend to be a bit more responsive with a bit more snap through turns. Suits a slight lowering in rocker relative.
- being light they don't like bump or too much power in the wave, or wind for that matter.
- They can get hung up on the lip due to lightness esp in wind.
- they can be a bit too abrupt through turns when power is involved.
- overall work well in smaller cleaner conditions.

I have a couple of epoxy/eps boards that I have ridden pretty hard for the past 2.5 years and both are still in great condition.